Lets talk turkey! 

 

 

Many people ask me

How is the real estate market doing? Are homes really selling. What are they really worth? Is it a good time to buy?

 Let’s look at what has closed and the data that is available.

This report is for homes (single family residential) that closed in Alachua County between September 1, 2011 to  October 18, 2011 from the MLS system.

There were 153 closed residential properties in this time period. Of these, there were 11 that were short sales, 28 Bank Owned, and 114 somewhat normal sales.

SHORT SALE information:

The sold prices of the 11 short sales  ranged from $80,000 to $275,000 with the average being  $153,992. The average asking price was $160,958. The average asking price was $160,958. The average ratio between asking to closed prices was 96%. The price per square  foot range was $44.40 to $116.43.  (Yes, $116.43 for a short sale home!). The average days on the market was 258, ranging from 134 days to 456 days.

BANK OWNED information:

In this same time period, there were 28 bank owned properties that closed. Their sold prices ranged from $12,000 to $330,000 with an average selling price of $112,617. The average asking price was $118,177. The average ratio between asking to closed prices was 95%. The price per square foot range was $14.93 to $101.14. The average day on the market was 124 ranging between 24 days on the market to 418 days on the market.

NORMAL SALES information:

There were 114 normal sales. Their sold prices ranged from $30,000 to $725,000 with an average selling price of $197,561. The average asking price was $207,838. The average ratio between asking to closed price was 95%. The price per square foot range was from $24.04 to $164.10 with an average of $101.25. These homes sat on the market an average of 174 days. The shortest was zero days on the market to 667 days on the market.

 

Interest Rates

Interest rates are low for some borrowers. If you have a great credit score, the rates are great. I suggest the first thing to do when you are contemplating buying a home, is to have a chat with your local lender. They can give you all the details of what YOU can expect when getting financing on a home. Also have them look at your credit. You can be surprised if something shows up that would stop the loan process.

As for the low home prices, it may not be quite what you expect. For example, don’t think you can put offers in 20% below asking price and get the seller to even respond.  Also, if you see a home you like, don’t wait too long or it could sell to someone else. We are also seeing many sellers getting multiple offers on their homes at the same time.

How can you use this information?

Well look at the ratio between asking and selling prices. The average is close to 95% of the asking price. Then look at days on the market – the more a home needs work, the longer it sits on the market.

A home that is in great shape, asking price is within reason, can expect to get 95% of their asking price, and sell within a few weeks to a few  months.